Everything Is Not As It Seems
by lightning027
Summary: Castiel Novak has enrolled in a pristine private high school - much different from his small Christian school. But what other surprises do the halls hold? How does Cas cope with different social situations, and will he ever fit in? Who's there to guide him through it? Dean of course. Well, kinda. Dean's a girl. ... Yeah. AU. Contains genderswap. Destiel, minor Sabriel.
1. Invisibility Trench Coat

**(A/N:** Hey guys. So, this is my first published Supernatural fic. And yeah, Destiel high school AU, aren't I so original? But I did try to make it different. So here are your warnings.

Pairings in this fic include one sided Lucifer/Sam and Michael/Dean. There is some slight Sassy (Cas/Sam). There will be definite Sabriel (Sam/Gabriel) but it will not be the fic's focus. And lastly, a big heaping dollop of Destiel (Dean/Cas).

Also something really important to the story: there are gender swaps. As in, main character gender swaps. As in, Dean-is-a-female gender swaps. Among other people as well. There are a few female characters who in this fic are male as well as males being fem-ified. It's not for the sake of "OMG homosexuality is icky let's make Dean a girl!" but more of exploring how much the characters personalities will change once their gender is switched. I don't know, I just thought it would be interesting.

Lastly, the characters do not have the same names as they do on the show. That would be too easy. I'm not just going to name fem!Dean Deanna and be done with it. No, it has to get complicated. You even have to search for most of the minor characters. However, try not to focus so much on figuring out who's who and just appreciate the story. Not every character is based off of a Canon. Only one teacher is based off of Canon actually, besides Crowley. Crowley is fucking special.

So, I hope you enjoy this little fanfic I made mostly for my own enjoyment and to just get some more writing experience. See ya next chapter!**)**

**Chapter 1: Invisibility Trench Coat**

The building stood tall, imposing, as the seemingly small boy walked towards it. His wide blue eyes stared up at the brick structure with a look of inquisitiveness and a slight tinge of fear. It was, of course, his first day at this new, country-renowned, private school. For eleven years, he had studied at a small Christian school. The school was tiny, the grade rarely exceeded fifteen students, and the grounds were in constant disrepair.

The school in front of him was the exact opposite of that school. The glass front doors were polished to a fine sheen, the brick was clean and sturdy, the concrete pillars free of gum and graffiti. The boy examined the sidewalk as he approached the building, five long, white buses lined up in front of the school dropping off students as well as the cars of parents. Cadillacs and Mercedes in a perfect line up to the three large double doors that marked the entrance. Four large pillars, each with a flower pot filled with carnations and roses, stood at attention as the students flowed, each adorned with their pristine uniforms and shining smiles. The boy felt out of place among the happiness and finery, but followed the flow of the students into the foyer of the school, Stella Academy.

The foyer was as grand as the outside of the school, he noted. In the middle of the floor was the school's seal, a large white winged bird with a fierce beak holding the globe in its talons, surrounded by the many stars of the universe. To his right stood the door to the office, where two kind secretaries chatted with equally happy parents. To the left stood the door to a teacher's lounge, he assumed, judging by the round tables and stove. Both walls were adorned with banners and shelves housing awards. His eyes flitted over the awards. He spotted golden basketballs next to awards regarding soccer and football; lacrosse and baseball. Cross country and track, hockey and volleyball, even swimming. The boy even spied some awards that seemed academic in nature.

The boy followed the throng through the building, past walls of small cube-like cubbies, expensive-looking wooden benches, and large polished doors that led to classrooms decorated with various learning-related paraphernalia. The students filed through large doors into a dark-wooded auditorium with red-velvet theater seats. The boy found a seat closer to the back without invading bad-kid territory, and attempted to make himself invisible. He removed his generic black backpack and placed it by his feet before hugging his tan trench coat closer to his form. Castiel was invisible to his peers.

More students entered the dimly lit room, taking their seats, but never sitting too close to Castiel. Most kids had gone to this school for their whole life, and knew everything about each other. To them, Castiel was strange, and even though he tried to seem invisible, he really tried, he still gained some strange looks from other students. He could actually tell old students from new students like himself – the old ones looked at him, the newer ones were nervous and sat in various areas around him, alone, while the veterans found their friends and took their seats, laughing and joking about their summers where they had undoubtedly gone to some island with beautiful white sand and true blue waters.

Once the teens found their seats, the lights dimmed even more, and a spotlight shown as a tall man stepped onto the stage. He wore a navy blue suit with the school's insignia on the breast; clean, polished dress shoes, gold cufflinks, and the same uniform tie the other boys wore – navy blue and red stripes. He was middle aged, his hair resembling pepper with its sprinkling of black, white, and grey. However, he still demanded authority with his strong grey eyes. The student quieted as he reached the microphone positioned in the center of the stage. Castiel noticed two more figures standing behind him, one a short, older female, the other a stout male.

"Welcome, students of Stella Academy. I am sure you are all looking forward to a wonderful school year here at the Academy."

Various noises of agreement and disapproval sounded throughout the large theater, along with a few giggles. The authoritative man set a disciplining glare in their general direction and the students quieted somewhat.

"I am Dr. Grant, your Principal, for those of you that do not know me. I would like to go over a few ground rules before I turn the ceremony over to Vice Principals Dorsey and Crowley," he gestured to the shadowed figures behind him.

"Firstly, I would like to remind you that at this school we do not have lockers. Lockers are very private and can house anything from untidy books to spoiled lunches to things such as firearms and illegal drugs. Thusly, we do not support the concept of a locker.

Instead, we provide our students with Unprotected Personal Storage Units, or UPSUs. It is your job to keep your UPSU tidy and be prepared for inspections from a Vice Principle or teacher. If you do have what is fondly referred to as an UPSUnami, where your books fall from the unit, and it is noticed by an authority that your organization is not up to par, you will receive a demerit."

A few students murmured to each other about how stupid they thought the UPSUs were as Castiel began to sweat. His belongings would not be protected? What if someone were to steal something?

"Our school is based on principles of Honor. We trust you to respect each other's property. If something is stolen from an UPSU, the student responsible will be subject to detention and possibly suspension. Do not be afraid to report stolen items to the administration," Dr. Grant continued, as if reading Castiel's mind. He relaxed slightly, but still felt a bit uneasy at the idea.

"Secondly, we share this campus with the Lower School and Middle School. A few of your classes will be in their buildings, and at times your will have the opportunity of volunteering in their classrooms. I ask that you exemplify your best behavior when transitioning to classes and set a good example to the younger students. They look up to you – so do not run in the halls or yell in the stairways. And under no circumstances do we tolerate any sort of harassment regarding the Middle or Lower schoolers." He glared at the back few rows, where a couple teens fidgeted in their seats. The steady hum of conversation in the room died down as the Principal stared down the back row.

Dr. Grant cleared his voice and tore his eyes away from the back row, and the whole auditorium seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Castiel absentmindedly wondered what had happened that made the Principal so angry.

"That is all I have to say at the moment. At this time I would like to turn the speeches over to Vice Principals Dorsey and Crowley. Have a fun, safe, and productive year." The Principal gave a smile that did not reach his eyes and exited the stage as the two Vice Principals stepped into the spotlight. The woman wore a light blue blazer and shirt, which reached her knees. Under the blazer she wore a simple white shirt, and she wore a pin that Castiel was almost sure depicted the school's crest. The lady was obviously old, her hair cut short, dyed platinum blonde, and sprayed into a strange gravity-defying hairstyle that even Castiel knew was a fashion disaster.

The man beside her did not seem as concerned with his age as she was. He wore a simple black suit with a white shirt and black tie, the same pin adorning his blazer. His dress shoes shone just as brightly as Dr. Grant's. Castiel took him to be the kind of man that enjoyed spending his time sitting in front of the fire sipping scotch, while Dr. Grant seemed to be the kind of man that was weary from staying up all night doing taxes.

The woman attempted to nonchalantly grab the microphone, but the man was too quick and snatched it from her with a slightly pleased smile ghosting over his features.

"Good mornin' ya little beasties," he said, his voice undeniably British. Or was it Scottish? Cas wondered. A few of the girls giggled at the greeting, while a group of seniors shouted "Crowley!" at an unnecessarily loud volume. Crowley waved his hands to calm them down. The woman behind him looked like she wanted to snap his neck, although it was pretty well concealed.

"As most o' ya already know, I'm Vice Principal Crowley. Ya can call me Crowley or 'VP' if you so wish," he stated, moving around the stage as he talked, seeming animated and keeping Castiel's attention fairly easily. "But I will not answer to 'Crowls' 'C-dawg' or 'King of the Hall', although that last one 's true. I catch ya meandering the hall without a pass and it's detention for ya!" he cackled. A few kids chuckled nervously.

"And I will never, ever, respond to 'Fergus'," Crowley narrowed his eyes and glared at a student in the left of the auditorium, who was laughing like a madman.

"If ya don't backtalk and stay outta trouble, we'll get along just fine," the man grinned, and it seemed more malicious than it should, Castiel thought. This Crowley could go either way, he could be a good guy that just acts sarcastic, or he could be a devil in disguise. Castiel hoped he never had to find out.

The other Vice Principle introduced herself as Dorsey. Castiel wasn't really able to catch anything else she said, over the din of teenagers chatting and the horrible drone of her voice. After her introduction, Crowley released the students to their first period classes and Castiel was caught up in the ocean of students.

**(A/N** – Well, first chapter. How'd it go? I decided to have the setting be in a private school rather than a typical public school, firstly because I've never been to public school and I'd probably get something wrong, and secondly because I think there's a lot more quirks involving private schools, and the social dynamics are a bit different.

Please review! I'd love to know what you guys think!**)**


	2. They Always Bring Ham

**(A/N –** You know, I'm kinda wondering why I'm writing this, because I hate AUs, and I hate genderswaps even more. But somehow this fic manages to keep my attention. Huh.

So, this chapter we get acquainted with a few characters, however they're all students, so don't spend your time trying to figure out who all the teachers represent. Anyway, have fun reading about Castiel in all his first day awkwardness.**)**

**Chapter 2 – They Always Bring Ham**

Castiel became acquainted with his UPSU when he was shoved into it while searching for his first period class. He clung to the cubbie for a moment as teenagers stormed around him. Once the first wave had subsided, Castiel took the opportunity to fish his schedule out of his bag. His first period class today was AP Biology, followed by Spanish 4 and a study hall. Then he would have to figure out where the hell the lunchroom was. Afterwards he would attend his Information Technology class, and then US History Overview. Castiel quickly memorized the rooms his first and second period classes were in (North Hall room 214 and Main Hall room 3) before trudging through the Quad to the science building. The building was similar to the main one, except smaller. The path leading towards the door was paved with bricks naming alumni and important donators. Castiel trudged up the stairs, only a few yards behind the initial crowd, and managed to make it to his room before the bell rang. He slipped into one of the back seats, noticing that his class was an odd number and that meant he would not have a lab partner. He silently thanked God for that fact.

The class slipped by fairly quickly, as the teacher seemed to recognize all the students except for him. The teacher herself was a rather eccentric lady by the name of Dr. Mahone, and her rather strange attire consisted of an 80's reminiscent blazer with oversized shoulder pads and all, paired with a rather short skirt and sparkly flats. What made this disturbing was that the lady was easily in her sixties and Castiel did not want nor need to see that much leg on a woman of her age. She was, however, funny (albeit a bit easily distracted) and Castiel thought he might enjoy her class.

Spanish he did not enjoy as much, as he was in a class filled with sophomores, and they all seemed to be intrigued as to why a junior was in their Spanish class. Castiel tried to stay quiet, but the exuberant Sra. Gloss insisted in making all sorts of introductions, and when Castiel spoke all the girls giggled at him, which earned him glares from quite a few sophomore boys. One boy in particular, who was dark skinned with rather startling green eyes, seemed to hate Castiel's guts, and tripped him on his way to the board to conjugate the verb "estar". Castiel recovered from the fall, although he was a bit flustered. The trick where they pulled his seat back was not taken as lightly, and Castiel had to stay in the nurse's office during study hall, as the fall caused him to crack his head on the chair and they had to take him in for concussion testing.

Castiel was perfectly fine by lunch, though, and he made his way to the West Hall fairly quickly. He was a bit irritated at the kid (whose name escaped him) but the teasing was nothing he couldn't handle. His brother Gabriel was constantly teasing him at home, so he was used to it. He was just caught off guard by the strange bright-eyed boy. He would be ready next time, though, Castiel assured himself as he entered the lunchroom. He glanced around, eyes scanning for any student that might catch his eye and invite him to a table. There was none, so Castiel took his bag lunch to an empty table and opened it. He had packed himself a ham sandwich, a bag of chips, and an apple along with some bottled water. He sighed, a bit disappointed that no one had even attempted to talk to him so far today. He cracked his water open, and was about to take a sip, when a huge slap to the back of his head caused him to spill water all over his face and uniform. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the cackle coming from his assailant and turned to face his older brother, Gabriel.

"Dude, you're getting soft. How the hell did you not see that one coming?" Gabriel chuckled as he smacked Castiel on the back, causing the younger to lurch forward a bit and glare at his brother.

"Now is not the time, Gabriel," Castiel stated in his low, gruff voice. He glanced around to notice a few students were watching them, and mentally cringed. Yes, this was really what he wanted to be remembered for.

"Aw, c'mon Cassie, don't be that way!"

"What do you want?"

"Nothing, baby brother, I was just wondering if you wanted me to sit with you because you're lonely and have no friends," Gabriel sneered. Castiel kept his expression neutral.

"Goodbye, Gabriel," Castiel stated, deciding that maybe if he ignored him he would go away. Castiel took a bite of his sandwich, ignoring his brother's taunts.

"Fine, be that way, ya little bitch," Gabriel finally gave in, flicking Castiel in the ear as he walked past. Castiel sent a glare his way as he rubbed his abused ear.

Castiel barely got two more bite of his sandwich before someone else slid into the seat across from him. He was so absorbed with filling his empty stomach that he didn't even notice his companion until he felt the table shift as elbows were placed on it.

Castiel looked up and stared at the girl sitting across from him. She had beautiful, long, chocolate-brown hair that fell around her face in waves. Her hair reached to her waist, and Castiel wondered how she managed to keep all that hair so clean and beautiful. He gazed into her deep brown eyes, which Castiel absentmindedly noticed were at eye level, meaning the girl was probably the same height as him.

"Hi, I'm Kelsey," she smiled, a light blush on her cheeks. Castiel imagined his own cheeks were probably flushed crimson by now.

"Hello… Kelsey," he mumbled, staring at her eyes. They kind of drew him in and he couldn't look away. He wondered if Kelsey thought he was weird for staring at him and attempted to look away, but couldn't.

"Oh wow, your voice is so deep," she giggled. Castiel blushed and finally found the strength to turn his gaze towards the lunch table.

"Thank… you?" Castiel stumbled, glancing at Kelsey again. She gave him a huge smile.

"What's your name, then?" she asked politely. He cleared his throat, which was suddenly very dry.

"Uh… Castiel. Novak." Castiel stated shyly, trying not to seem too nervous. Kelsey's eyes widened at his name.

"Castiel! Ooh, that's so pretty! I've never heard that name before," Kelsey mused, staring straight into his eyes. Castiel felt his trench coat getting a bit too hot for comfort and fiddled with his tie, which seemed to be constricting his breathing.

"The meaning is 'my cover is God'" Castiel blurted out before he knew what he was saying.

"I thought that sounded Christian! Castiel is the angel of Thursday, duh," the brunette smacked herself in the forehead, causing her long hair to flutter, which caused Castiel's heart to do the same.

"Yes, that is correct," he managed to choke out through an incredibly dry throat.

Kelsey opened her mouth to mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

"Kelsey! Godammit, get your butt back to the table and stop harassing the poor kid!" a girl from a couple tables over yelled. Castiel couldn't tell which girl had yelled, but her voice sounded deep and melodious, a strange yet somehow pleasant combination. Castiel raised a hand weakly in a wave as Kelsey retreated to her table and tried to eat the rest of his food without melting into a puddle of nervous Castiel-goo at his interaction with the incredibly pretty girl.

XXXXX

Kelsey took her seat at the table, next to Rachel and across from Miles, who was glaring at her. Kelsey stuck her tongue out at the blonde boy, who returned the favor. Rachel, however, just rolled her eyes and bit into her cheeseburger.

"So… what was he like!?" Angela practically screamed from a few seats away. Kelsey's eyes lit up and Rachel watched them closely without seeming like she was interested. Sure, the new kid looked kind of interesting. He was the only new student their class had gotten this year, and new students were always interesting. It was sort of a race to see which social group would accept the new kid into their ranks, and as Rachel glanced around the lunchroom she could see the rest of her grade eyeing the poor guy.

And it wasn't just for social status either. They were scoping him out for fuckability. The kids at this school had known each other for years – they were almost family. The only time they dated someone at the school was when there was new meat. AKA the kid wearing a trench coat, sitting alone, and eating a ham sandwich. Of course it was ham. They always bring ham.

So the whole grade was racing to snatch this kid up, stick him in their friend group, and fuck his brains out. Possibly. Either that, or he turned out to be weird, in which case, he would be forced to hang out with rejects from years past and his school life would be utter crap. Not hell, but possibly purgatory.

So, of course Rachel was a little interested in the kid. She hadn't really gotten a good look at him, so she didn't even know if he was attractive, let alone a nice person. So she stealthily glanced at Angela and Kelsey as they chatted about the boy.

"He's really cute," Kelsey squealed.

"Careful there, you might shatter the glass," Rachel deadpanned. Kelsey ignored her, used to the older girl's sarcastic remarks.

"He is!?" Angela asked, her blue eyes shining with possibilities. Her straight platinum blonde hair shone along with her eyes. Her excitement almost made Miles and Rachel puke as they shared a look.

"Yeah. He's got these huge blue eyes and he's almost like a puppy, tilting his head to the side with those eyes all hopeful," Kelsey fangirled. Miles frowned at her. He loved Kelsey, and was just about ready to beat the new kid enough for just existing and speaking to her, because she was his, dammit!

Well, not really. She had no clue he was kinda-sorta in love with her. Although everyone else did. Fuck.

"He's weird, though. It's like he's shy but confident at the same time," Kelsey bit her lip, and Rachel smiled. She knew that look. It was the look Kelsey got when she was analyzing something, or someone as the case may be.

"Ooooh, that is interesting," Angela said, tapping a manicured fingernail against her chin. "Sounds good to me," she grinned evilly. Rachel set her cheeseburger down. The look was not good. That was the look Angela got when she wanted something.

"Angie, sit the fuck down. You're not jumping the kid's bones in the cafeteria," Rachel stated, smirking slightly at her friend.

"That's the second time! Why're you defending this guy, Rache? You don't even know him!"

"I'm not 'defending' him. The kid deserves some time to get used to the place, not get caught up in our fucking border wars and stupid relationships. He just got here. I know what it feels like to be the new kid and get caught up in the drama the first week of school. It ain't fun," Rachel frowned, glaring at Miles and Kelsey, who smiled sheepishly at her. "Give him time."

"Aw, but he'll be all snatched up by then," Angela pouted.

"Tough shit," Rachel barked. Kelsey laughed and Rachel ate the last of her burger, washing it down with bland cafeteria iced tea.

**(A/N –** So, how'd it go? As of now, I'm opening up the reviews for guesses regarding the identities of the characters. Good luck!

Please review with your guesses and also whatever other feedback you have. Thanks for reading!**)**


End file.
